What It Means to Be Human
by OnyxHarmony
Summary: (( Another fanfiction inspired by mine and Grumpy Zane's Dm's on tumblr. )) Deity and Zane go on a long mission together..but Zane can't help but wonder if his sister isn't telling the truth. Does she really think he's human?
1. We'll Go Together

They had just converted the school, two years after Lloyd had defeated the Overlord..but it wasn't quite open yet. Zane looked at himself in the mirror, testing his old ninja suit..it still fit as his body never changed, but he kept seeing the nightmare. The one from two years ago. Blood, holding his sister after she's passed on the table. He violently shakes his head, talking to himself and running a hand through his hair. "She's alive, Zane. She's fine. She just-" Deity poked her head into the nindroid's room-she'd been walking by after setting up the music room. "I just what, Ice Cube?" Zane rubbed the bridge of his nose in mock annoyance-there was a smile creeping into his face from the nickname. He couldn't help it..he liked the way she called him something related to his element-and the way her melodic voice seemed to properly pronounce each sound in it. "You just scare me sometimes, Nightingale." **Only** Zane was _ever_ allowed to call her that. Jay called her Melody, Kai called her princess, her boyfriend Cole called her Songbird. But Zane? Her brother? He was the only one who dared to call her anything related to her mother. She'd had a breakdown one night when she was scared she'd become like her mother..and Zane had reminded her that the only reason her mother had been called the Nightingale is because the bird is often seen as powerful for it's song.. and the fact that some mistake it for a predator-type bird. The nightingale is gentle. As was Deity, Zane had come to learn over the years. His sister was silent and usually very calm..but if you got her riled up, or angry..she'd produce the shrill tones of the nightingale-her element made her fairly decent at melodic bird calls..an easy way to distract enemies. Pray for anyone who makes her angry to the point of an elemental surge, however..Zane imagined anyone in a twenty mile radius would be affected.

He shakes his head from his thoughts and chuckles at his sister. "You know why you scare me..and I know you're alive, I just..-" Deity carefully came into his room and hugged him tightly. "I'm not leaving you, Zane. I'm alive. I plan on being alive as long as you need me-." The droid just squeezed her, laying his head in her neck. "I know, I know just..let us not discuss your mortality and plans to transfer for me..Please.." He was whispering..Deity carefully tugged her brother away from her neck and cupped his face in her hands. "You had the nightmare again, didn't you?" Her voice is soft as she strokes his cheek with her metallic thumb. He just nods..he seems scared. "It..it's causing me to-" She shushed him. "I know. Hallucinate. Zane.." She sighs and watches ice blue eyes stare back at her. "How about I let you back me up on the recon mission I have to do?" Zane's grip tightened on his little sister. A recon mission? No, no! She needed to stay here, where she'd be safe-. Deity shook him slightly. "Ice cube, look at me. There's been some rogue snake activity in Glacier Barrens and The Sea of Sand, and a bit near the Toxic Bogs." Sure, the majority of the snakes had learned to keep to themselves...but a few really despised humanity. Zane sighed and pulled away from her, packing up his gear. He could keep her cool in the Sea of Sand, and he'd try his best to keep her warm in Glacier Barrens, but the Toxic Bogs worried him. She'd never been to any of these places. All elemental hazards. He flinched when he felt Deity gently grip his shoulders. "Zane..I know. You're worried about me venturing too far past the Bounty and the city. But if you come with me, I know I'll be alright. Besides, Cole is busy trying to figure out a curriculum for something he wants to teach. You're my only recon partner."

Zane couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. "I do not think I have ever fought in tandem with you on a mission-or have been on a mission with you at all." Deity ruffles her brother's hair. "No, you haven't. But then again, I kinda took a nap for two years." Zane bristles a little-then relaxes. He knows that's just how his sister is..she liked to joke about it because she'd survived it..and it was how she kept her mind off nearly dying. "Hnn. Yes, you took a very long nap, didn't you? Late for your own birthdays, shame on you-" He chuckles a little and closes the bag for his gear. She rolls her eyes. "I'm surprised that Jay didn't try and throw me a party anyway." Zane pauses. "Oh he.." He sighs and tugs his bag onto his back. "He did't throw a party, but he did sit with you on your birthday. He locked the door and wouldn't let any of us in." She frowned as they started walking out of the school. "Really? Did he say what he did?" Zane shakes his head as he pulls his sister onto his bike behind him, handing her a helmet. "No, but there was a little small stuffed dragon next to you, the next time I went in." Deity slowly rose an eyebrow and pulled her helmet on, making sure the communication link inside worked. "Huh..He doesn't normally show emotion to that degree." She said as they took off, holding onto Zane's waist as they drove. "Glacier Barrens first, okay? It's your natural element, Ice Cube." Zane chuckled a little over his communication link. "My element or not, wherever we go, we'll go together."


	2. Let Me Do This for You

They'd finally arrived at Glacier Barrens..at nightfall, thankfully. Well, almost..Zane estimated they had at least thirty minutes to get to a cave and start up a fire before the sun set. That is..if he unpacked their gear and sleeping rolls in time. Not that Deity and Zane ever really slept. He had been staring off into space, bike steadily running..when he heard a soft murmur in the communication link. Deity squeezed her brother from behind. "Zane..we've been sitting here for twenty minutes..sun's going down, Ice Cube." She was never one to be too harsh with him. Deity knew he had his moments of mental spacing when he was calculating. Zane sighs and turns the bike off, pushing it into the cave with her. "You want me to go get some wood? Zane, I can-" He shakes his head. "It'll be cold soon, Deity. You can't handle that." He tugs Kai's thermal suit out of his bag. "Put this on over your suit. I'll be back." She begrudgingly tugs the thermal suit on over hers, pouting as Zane leaves. "Can't handle this, can't handle that, why I-" Zane tosses the bundles of wood on the cave floor, shaking his head as he begins to start the fire. "I only said that because you will get cold faster, Deity. Even Cole would, and he is closest in elemental stability during time in harsh environments, next to me. Even the earth becomes cold."

"The earth becomes cold, the earth carries a shadow..yes I know Zane." She lays her head back against the chilly cave wall. "But the earth is also strong." She held her hand up as Zane opened his mouth to protest what he thought was his sister belittling her own ability. "An..expression, right..." The droid rubs the back of his head once the fire is started, sitting next to Deity. A cold breeze rolls into the cave and Zane is calm-the cold never bothered him. But Deity shivers..Zane knows Kai's thermals tend to work with the fire master's element, but they are insulated..and will do somewhat of a decent job keeping her warm. He slowly pushes her toward the fire and makes her sit down. "We will rest and scout out the location of the rumored activity in the morning." She chuckles. "Rest..you're funny, Z." Soon, the fire is out..all the wood has been burned through..and Deity is shivering in her sleep. It's a light cycle of sleep..Zane can tell because he'd developed a bad habit of scanning her heart to check the rate. It kept him _sane_. He even did it when she was awake..it'd been two years, he didn't know why it still bothered him **so much**. Maybe because he cared. That was a..human trait, yes? Another shiver. Zane slowly gets up and tugs his suit hood on, slowly shuffling toward the cave opening. She will be fine, Zane. This cave is in a remote location, and-his eyes widen as he hears it. Slow, loud thudding steps. It's not human. It's a **treehorn**.

He can just make out the shadow of the thin, spindly legs of the beast. It's close..but Deity is freezing, and-..Zane hesitates. She needs to be warm..she'd die, it's negative twenty degrees and dropping. He can't fight the beast just to go get wood, when he knows she could **freeze** in the time it would take to defeat the beast and find a tree in this frozen wasteland. The next patch of trees was nearly five miles from here. He slowly tugs his hood off and carefully walks back into the cave, nudging his sister. She wakes, letting out a shaky breath. "Fuck..Zane..when did the fire go out?" He'd gotten used to his sister's tendency to curse upon waking-it depended on the circumstances she woke up in, but he surmised that anyone waking to freezing temperatures that wasn't used to it would have that reaction. Wasn't used to it..he snapped himself from his thoughts and carefully pushed his sister into a sitting position, scooting back against the icy wall with her in his arms. She's never been too far away from the Bounty in her whole life. The freezing temperatures are a shock to her body-and could be lethal if he's not fast. Zane slowly wraps his arms and legs around his sister, making sure they're under the blanket. "It went out moments ago, but the temperature dropped quickly in the cave. Please hold still." Deity is confused..but does as she's asked, laying herself back against Zane. It takes a minute..but she hears Zane hold his breath to stall his systems. He's getting warmer. "Zane, what the hell are-" The droid shakily looks down at her, it's a pleading look. He's scared..he cares more about her not freezing to death than he does himself overheating. She can hear it..a harsh whirring muffled by her own body and the blanket. "L-Let me do thiszz for you."

He's glitching..he's getting a little too warm. It's a comfortable warmth to her..but to a nindroid? To an ice elemental? It's agony. He's overheating a little. "J-Just a few more hours til sunrisszzze-" Deity frowns, shifting around to face Zane in his arms. "Zane, you shouldn't..-" Another pleading look. She falls silent, holding onto her brother and laying her head in his neck. She's whispering. "There's something outside the cave, right? That's why you couldn't go out-" It's a weak nod, but she can feel it against the top of her head. "What was it? Take a slow breath to do a minor cooling so you don't melt, Z-" Residual warmth is leftover as Zane takes a few breaths, his voice glitching as he rubs his cheek against her head. "T-Treeeehorn." She tenses, slowly wrapping her arms around her brother as she hears the beast roar in the distance. "You mean the giant-" Zane shushes her, taking another breath to hold. He begins to heat again. "Deity, pleasszzze." He's begging. If he doesn't focus, he can't stay stable. It _hurts_. But he can't lose his sister. He can't stand the thought of her wide eyed, frozen on the cave floor.. "Hrrk-" He lost his breath, slumping against her and panting. Deity knows what her brother is thinking. The worst. He always does, with her. He takes another breath, looking at his sister. Zane slowly tightens his protective grip on her and looks into those sapphire eyes of hers. He looks terrified as he warms up again, another glitch causing him to twitch. "Let me dO thisszz for you.."


	3. Say it Again I Dare You

They had survived the night..for the most part. Zane woke to see his little sister still asleep on him, mumbling about kicking Kai into the dirt. He couldn't help but chuckle, gently nudging her. "You can spar with Kai later, Deity. It is time to wake up. I-" He paused, rubbing his chest. It seemed he was a little slow from being a personal heater last night. After Deity finally woke up and they had eaten, they started to trek out of the cave. Zane kept his bike there-he claimed it was safer there in case they needed to make an escape. Shaking her head as they neared a patch of trees, Deity paused and held her brother back. He watched her, slightly cautious. If she heard something, it had to be important. He kept his voice low, slowly turning his gaze to her. "How many? What is it?" She shushed him. That usually meant that whatever it was, was getting closer. "Snakes. At least eight..four for me, and four for you." Soon, they were fighting..but Zane was wearing down. He kept missing..his targeting was slow and he moved sluggishly. "Zane? Zane what the hell is wrong with you?" She grunted, being pushed back a few feet by a Constrictai. "I..I cannot seem to-" The ice elemental grunted when he was knocked into the snow by another Constrictai, hearing it chuckle as it wailed on Zane. The nindroid managed to blast ice into the snake's face and temporarily catch him off guard. "My eyes! He's blinded me! Friggin' pile of scrap metal blinded me!"

That caught Deity's attention. She slowly lifted her head, watching the ice covered snake flail around, digging the ice off his face. "What did you call my brother? I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you. Say it again. I **dare** you." The black and orange spiked snake finally clawed the last of the ice out of his eyes, grinning. "I called the overgrown snow cone machine a pile of scrap metal. Whatcha gonna do about it, ain't you the nice one?" Stomping on another snake's tail and socking him in the snout, Deity turned to look at the offending snake. "Nice is subjective!" She lunged at the snake, shoving him down into the snow after landing a few hits. She was angry, and it was starting to show. She dug one of her sai from her chest strap and held it as the snake rose, wiping his bloody snout. "Ain't lavender a gentle color?" She heard Zane chuckle. At first, he'd been against Deity taking on the snakes. But now? It was a little funny. "Nightingales are supposed to be gentle, too. Funny..her mother wasn't gentle." Deity rolled her eyes. "Sit your ass in the snow, or get up and help me! I love you Zane, but-" She grunted when the snake landed a bit into her arm and began squeezing her. The snake grimaced, spitting and wiping his mouth as he let her go. Zane began chuckling again. "She's a little under seasoned, forgive her." Deity realized what Zane was doing now. He was trying to distract the snake so she could get a blow in.

"Yeah, metal doesn't taste too good. But here! Let me help you get a better mouthful!" She lunged forward and landed a hard punch with her right hand, grabbing the snake's tongue and gripping tight. When he whined, she didn't let go. She landed blow after blow, only stopping when she heard Zane's voice cut through the air. _**"DEITY. STOP."**_ She shook, slowly pulling away and letting the snake go. "You are not your mother. Remember that." She held her head, not seeing the snakes advancing behind her. "I..Yeah. Guess I lost myself, there.." She watched her brother slowly forcing himself to stand, shaking her head as the droid put his hand on her shoulder. "You lose yourself when it comes to family members. It's understandable. Now.." Zane slowly turned her around, standing beside her. "I believe we were trying to work our way through some snakes." Deity was ready, brandishing her sai. Zane was weakened, but he would never let her fight alone. More snakes were coming..he could see Hypnobrai slithering over the hills. "Do you remember what I told you?" The droid grunted as they were pushed back again. "Don't look them in the eyes, right?" A blast of ice to his left, Zane knocked out a Constrictai. "Yes, exactly..and scream if you have to. Snakes have very sensitive hearing...well, most do. They hated the flute." She was hesitant. "Zane, I don't want to blow your audio receptors out again-." He shushed her, fighting back to back with her. Deity landed a non lethal blow to the shoulder of a Hypnobrai with her sai, swallowing as they advanced. "Zane..do you think I should.."

He shook his head. "Not yet. A little closer..we need to get as many as possible." Zane nudged his sister, nodding. "Now! As loud and as shrill as you can!" Deity looked apologetic, but took a deep, long breath...and screamed. It came out in waves, causing trees to shake and the snow to fall off onto some snakes. Other snakes covered their ears, wailing in pain. Zane grunted as he felt his audio receptors pop and fizzle out in his ears. He felt a little scrambled, gripping his sister for support as her sonic scream died down. "I need to..prevent that from happening next time." He rubbed his head, seeing some snakes retreat...but more were coming over the horizon. He glanced at his sister. She couldn't scream much more..that had been a particularly strong scream.. and they'd dubbed her sonic scream a last resort measure some time ago. Deity wheezed, trying to catch her breath. "Can you sing at all?" A raspy wheeze is his only response-though he can hardly hear it. Everything sounds like it's muffled and warped. Zane can see more snakes advancing-and his joints are locking up from being beaten into the snow earlier. He forces himself to move, turning around to watch Deity. It all happens within moments. Zane is trying to relay instructions to his sister..when a sharp punch to the back of his head sends him down into the snow. His reaction time is heavily delayed from being a heater the night before, and the beating from moments ago. Grunting as he falls into the snow, he can see his weakened sister struggling against the hold of a Constrictai. She's tired..the scream wore her out. The scream _he_ suggested she use. She looks..scared. She's never dealt with snakes before. She's never been in a heavy fight before..Zane can only look on as his sister is bound by the snakes and knocked out. Before she passes out, she looks directly at Zane in fear. Zane looks apologetic and averts his gaze as the snakes drag her away, staring at the treeline in the distance. He knows now..he should've listened to his gut.

 _ **She wasn't ready.**_


	4. Where Your Heart Lies

Zane slowly forces himself up in the snow, testing his joints. Still slow..the snakes had left with his little sister, and it was his fault. She had defended him, and it had ended in her capture. He pats his suit down, frowning. Did they take his radio? He couldn't feel it. One more pat down just to make sure. It was gone. Zane sighs and tiredly looks at the trail leading back to the cave. This will take some time, but her life might be at stake. Starting his trek to the cave, he pauses as his foot bumps something. Looking down into the snow, he grimaces..it's Deity's pendant. Silk ribbon shredded by snake claws. Bending down to pick it up, Zane ties it to his wrist and makes his way down the long trail to the cave. He's panting by the time he gets there...it took him two hours to walk in the snow with his weakened body. Zane turns the bike on, trying to find the right frequency for the Bounty. Ah! There it is. "This is Zane, is anyone at the helm of the ship? Does anyone have their radio on them? It's urgent. I need a pickup in Glacier Barrens. **Immediately.** " He waits, then tries to listen to the gruff voice coming through. Everything is still so muffled and warped. "This is Cole. What's up, Z? What happened?" Zane presses the button down to talk again, shaking his head. "I will explain upon arrival. Please, just hurry. And know that I am very, truly sorry in advance." He just hoped they could find her..wherever she was.

Viper chuckles as he watches his comrades drag the unconscious master of song into their underground hideout. "Lovely.." The hypnobrai strokes his clawed hand under her chin, shaking his head. "You know, the elderss ssay humanss are kind..I highly doubt thiss. Why do they give uss ssuch dirty lookss in public? Or kick uss out of resstaurantss? Why sshould we live underground, when the ssurface dwellerss claim they want harmony between uss?!" Rattles raises his hand. "Uh..boss..she ain't technically human. She's got them metal arms and that..eye thing." The young Constrictai interjects, shaking his head. "Don't that make her a cyborg?" Viper rubs the bridge of his snout. "That'ss not the point!" He shouts, hissing growing louder. "Have you ever heard of the Nightingale of Ninjago, Rattless?" The Constrictai scratches his head, trying to think. "Ain't she that one woman that killed a bunch of people? A bounty hunter? That's her mama, right? Least that's what Snide said." Viper visibly bristles at the name of one of their elders, but clears his throat. "Yess well, my point iss, if we can hypnotize her into tapping into that dormant DNA without remorsse, we can finally give the ssurface dwellerss what they desserve!" Rattles scratches his head in confusion, but shrugs. "Alright then boss, you want me to take her down to the holding cells?" Viper shrugs, having disarmed Deity himself and tossed all her weapons in a corner. "Don't forget to ssmash her arm and leg...oh, and do be a dear Rattless. Gag her sso sshe can't ssing. Now..where are thosse ninja.."

Zane groaned and rubbed his head as he stared out the window of the cockpit, trying to think. Jay had repaired his hearing upon arrival, and now he had the team assembled inside the meeting room. They wanted to know why he said he was sorry in advance. Why he was so _silent_..and why he had Deity's pendant on his wrist. He took a breath and slowly turned to his team, scanning over their confused faces. "Before I begin, I want you to know that it is no one's fault. I just..think maybe we should focus on being level headed instead of rushing in and attacking. Think logically, make sure the numbers are right before we-" He rubs his chest. Something felt wrong with the way he said numbers..Deity wasn't a number. He takes a breath. "Deity and I were investigating some rogue Serpentine in Glacier Barrens..after spending a night as her personal heater because there was a treehorn outside, I-" He sees Cole visibly tense..the earth elemental is nearly breaking his pen. "Cole, please relax and let me finish. I can assure you, she survived the night just fine and the treehorn was no trouble." He watches Cole slowly relax-even if its by a small amount. "As I was saying..Upon waking, we headed out to search the area for signs of these so called rogue Serpentine...when we were attacked." He sees Jay tensing now..and hears Cole's pen break. "Now calm down, both of you!" Lloyd half shouts, glaring at the earth and lightning elementals. Zane is surprised to see Lloyd speaking up. "Let Zane talk, or you're doing dishes for three weeks." Zane cracks a smile. He's not the most intimidating ninja, but it works..Cole and Jay both settle, confused because Kai hasn't said anything-neither has Nya. Zane knows Kai is one to listen before acting..usually.

Nya usually likes to get all the details before forming a plan. She's a very smart girl. The ice droid sighs and shakes his head. "Yes, we were attacked..but we fought. I did my best..though I was a little slow because of the night before. I got beat down into the snow and called a few things..which made Deity fairly angry-" He can see Kai crack a smile. He always liked it when Deity got heated over her family. "-and after some time..sadly, we were surrounded." He can see Jay's gaze lingering on the special pendant he'd given Deity on her birthday while she was in the coma. "So I did the only thing I could think of. I asked her to scream. As loud and as shrill as she could without hurting herself." At this, he can see the whole team tense. They all know Zane would only ever ask Deity to do that as a last resort. An absolute last resort. "It..worked, right?" Jay's nervous voice asked, unable to take his eyes off of Zane holding the pendant. "It did, but..other than blowing my audio receptors, it weakened Deity. It was her loudest yet." Upon hearing that his girlfriend had been weakened, Cole's face turned to worry-and Zane believed Cole had every right to worry. "I.." Zane seems to struggle with his next words. "I turned to give her instruction because she couldn't even sing, and..I was struck from behind. I landed in the snow and couldn't move." Cole's gaze shifts from worry to panic, watching Zane intently. "Please don't tell me she got cap-" Zane's apologetic look is all it takes. The whole team goes silent. "She's..never been around the snakes before, Zane.." Jay silently says, looking worried for their missing teammate and family member.

"I..I know, and I'm sorry-" The nindroid looks at the floor, sighing. "I don't know where they took her. We're floating around in the dark until we hear something." Cole looks as though he's biting his tongue. He won't spout unnecessary anger when he's only mad from worry. "I'm..sorry I just-" Kai pats Cole's hand. "Don't worry buddy. We know. We all care about Princess." Cole grumbles, silently toying with the lavender and black cloth bracelet on his wrist. "Her name is Songbird.." Jay chuckles. "She made that for you for your anniversary, right?" Cole just nods, toying with the fabric. "Cole..we will get her back. We never leave anyone behind. You know that." Cole takes a breath and goes to speak, only to hear the familiar cry of the robotic falcon swoop in through the window. Zane pauses, slowly walking over to the falcon. "What have you got there, my falcon friend?" Zane tugs the lavender scrap from it's beak and swallows. Oh no. Upon flipping the scrap over, he can see the blood specks over the back of it. This is Deity's. The falcon lets out an attention seeking chirp, hopping over to the console and pecking at the connection cable. "Hm? Do you have something else for us? Nya, hook him up please." Nya nods in confirmation of Zane's request, plugging the bird into the console. An audio file begins to play. It seems the falcon had been out free roaming when it flew over Deity being carried by the snakes.

"So uh..what's boss want this lady for anyway?"

"You don't know? You ain't been listening, have ya? Her mom was like..the deadliest assassin when we were kids."

"What's that got to do with it?"

"Boss is gonna rough her up til she submits, and make sure she taps into that. He wants the blood on _her_ hands, not his."

"Submits? You mean he's gonna hypnotize her?"

Zane visibly tenses, suddenly going silent. Cole is utterly speechless. They were going to hurt her? Force her to be something she never wanted? Suddenly, the ship lurches..Zane has taken control of it, looking at the map on the console monitor beside him. He's flying to the location from the audio file, eyes focused and expression as calm as ever. "Zane? Zane buddy, what are you-" Kai approaches the nindroid-but the air around Zane is cold. Deathly cold. Jay carefully tugs Kai away from Zane, shaking his head. "Don't mess with him, dude. He's mad." Kai snorts. "He doesn't look mad-" Colder. The air around Zane is growing much colder by the second, and his expression is eerily neutral and silent. "Oookay. Maybe he's a little mad." Cole slowly stands up and walks to stand by Zane's side. He's just as angry, but he can't do much about it. The only thing he can do is offer his help to Zane. Zane grips the handles of the steering wheel, feeling them coat over in frost. No one does that to his Nightingale. Cole's Songbird. Jay's Melody. Lloyd's big sister. **No one.** The droid is freezing the poor handles solid, but keeping the wheel mobile and usable. They will find her, he thinks to himself. Heaven help those snakes if he and Cole find them first, and if she's hurt..-. Zane tries not to think of that. _'We will find you. Wherever you are.'_

"Now then.." Viper begins, watching Rattles and Fang open the cell door. "I take it you're ready to let me in, little flower?" Deity shakily grumbles in defiance behind her gag, looking at the crimson running down her stomach. Claw wounds and blood. These are nothing compared to what Cole has done to her while he's corrupted. It's in a pool near her legs..they beat her up and constrict her, but make sure she stays alive and moderately healthy. Why? She has no idea. "Come now, little flower. You wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone you care about, would you? What about the human children in the orphanage you vissit on the weekendss?Deity weakly snaps her head up to attention, angrily swearing through her gag and writhing against the body chains. They had to use full body chains to restrain her-seeing as they smashed her arm and leg to pieces. "Mmn..yess, I've done my ressearch on you. You're a tough flower, aren't you?" He gestures to the remaining scraps of her limbs, chuckling. "Don't worry, if you ssubmit, you can have nice new oness, hm?" Her resolve is strong..but she's weakening. She's so tired.. Viper slowly uses a clawed hand to lift her chin while she's weakened, starting into her eyes. He slowly strokes her cheek, seeing her strain against his grip. "Hussh now, little flower. Don't ressisst.." He starts his hypnosis as Deity struggles, grinning. "Now then..let'ss ssee if we can change where your heart liess."


	5. When a Good Man Goes to War

Viper chuckles, gently stroking the cheek of his poor hypnotized puppet. "Thatss a good girl.. won't be fighting back anymore..right?" The snake couldn't help but watch her red eyes. "Now..you are your mother..you are the child of the Nightingale, the sstealthiesst..deadliesst assassin in all of Ninjago." Deity seems to visibly tense at these words. Viper keeps his gentle stroking of her cheek up, shaking his head. "Hussh, little flower. Relax your mind. You are the new Nightingale..an agent for the new SSerpentine uprissing. And ssuch a pretty agent..your beauty is wassted on that dirt clod." Deity seems to slowly relax, nodding and agreeing with his words. "Good! It sseemss I won't have to bleed that cream colored body of yourss anymore, hm? But jusst to make ssure.." He grips her chin, digging his claws into her skin. She yelps, red eyes switching to worry. Viper gets close, pressing his snout to her nose. "If you sso much as try and fight my control over you, I'll make them ssuffer. I'll make ssure your preciouss love ssees who you can really be." She tries to jerk away from him-she's clearly showing emotion still. "Pity.. and here I thought you were lisstening to me." He takes a breath and continues his hypnosis. "No remorsse, flower. Ruthlesss..You don't love the earth masster..the ice masster was never human to you. They are not your family. We are. You will kill for me, yess?" Deity seems to slump forward as she loses the battle for her mind, panting and shaking. She slowly raises her head, dull red eyes staring back at Viper. **"Yes sir."**

When they finally arrive at the location of the audio recording, Zane silently parks the ship and gears up. He glances at Cole, who seems to be watching him. "Is there something you wish to say, brother?" The raven haired earth master shakes his head. "It's nothing that ain't already been said, Z." The master of ice sighs and looks at his brother. "I did what I could, I-" Cole puts his hand on Zane's shoulder. "Zane..I don't blame you. Being a ninja comes with risks. We all know that..I just.." Zane chuckles and shakes his head. "You don't want anything to happen to her, because you love her with all your heart, right? You're in love with a songbird, and you're scared of losing her. I know, Cole. I would never let anything..happen to her." Zane seems to bristle, glancing to the floor. "Not on purpose." Cole pats the droid's back. "I know, Z. She's your person. It's like er.." The raven's expression changes to thought. "A best friend for eternity, you know?" He shakes his head. "I know emotions are still sorta strange to you, Z. But-" Zane cuts him off. "But she's what I needed. In a platonic sense, anyway." Cole nods. "Exactly." He pauses, hearing the others yell out that they were ready to head down off the ship. "You ready, Z? We still haven't found her, but the audio recording is a clue.." Zane tucks his shuriken into his belt, nodding. "Yes..let's go find my person." The air around the droid is still so cold..he's angry. He can tell Cole is, too. The master of earth had simple..but tiny, visual tells when he was angry and trying to stay calm. He'd fidget. He would subconsciously clench and unclench his jaw.

As soon as they finally get down into the snow, Zane set his falcon free to lead them. "You were the last to see them, my friend. Please..fly in the direction you saw them walking." The falcon gives a chirp of confirmation and heads off-but at a slow pace they can all follow. The master of ice can hear Kai grumbling behind him as they trudge through the snow. "If I get my hands on those snakes I'll..-" Zane can't help but chuckle. "I know, Kai. I know. She's important to everyone." Jay cracks a smile, shaking his head. "You know, you'd think Kai would keep a _cool_ head, seeing as we're in a frozen wasteland." The ginger turns around, placing his arms behind his head as he walks backwards. " _Chill_ out, Kai." Zane goes to say something..but a worried chirp catches his attention. He runs toward the spot his falcon is resting..and stops. No, no that can't be! Zane is staring at a large patch of dark red in the snow. It's old blood..maybe a day or so..but it's a significant amount. Not lethal, thankfully.. The blood trails off and then stops, like they had vanished. He frowns, rubbing his chin. Snakes..tended to live underground, right? Jay speaks up-he's been surveying the area. "Zane, there's been a few snowfalls since you got back yesterday. Anything would've been covered up. Any holes, anyway." He nods, looking over the scenery..then he sees Lloyd leaning down in the snow, dusting a spot. "What are you doing?"

Lloyd chuckles. "You guys ah..remember when I plagued Jamanakai Village with the Hypnobrai? Their tomb is here in Glacier Barrens." Kai rose an eyebrow. "And? That doesn't explain why you're playing in the snow-" A pop is heard..and a low grinding sound starts as Lloyd opens the tomb. He shushes the others. "I know we're all kinds of angry..especially Zane and Cole, if we were back in the Bounty, the ship's wheel would be covered in ice. " Zane rubs the back of his neck, not commenting on the actual severity of his anger. Lloyd shakes his head. "It's nighttime, so the snakes are likely asleep. Zane, what do you think we should do?" The droid hesitates. They could go in now, while they're asleep..but it could be a trap.. they could kill her if they're seen.. Zane flinches when feels Cole's hand on his shoulder. "We go in low, and slow. Try not to make any noise. Lloyd..are there a lot of chambers in here?" Cole looked down at the green ninja, raising an eyebrow. Lloyd seems to stop and think, peering down into the darkness. He takes a breath. "There are a few I remember, but.." He shakes his head. "I don't think all of us should go in." Lloyd points to Kai, Zane and Cole. "Light, brains and brawn." Zane nods, and looks to Jay and Nya..and Lloyd. "You three are backup, I take it?" Lloyd nods, then hands Zane a few ropes from his pack. "Good luck. And..bring her home, alright?"

Zane nodded to Lloyd as the three of them started their descent into the dark tombs. He watched Kai slowly light a dim flame..and Cole was silent. They were mostly patient men..Zane especially. But now? They had his sister. Cole's girlfriend. Their family. A fellow ninja. _His person.._ Frost coated the rope under Zane's hands as they slid down. He was getting angry again. Cole nudged him and gently patted his shoulder. It was an unspoken reassurance-but Zane wasn't listening. Frost turned to ice as they went down, and Zane began to slip from being lost in his thoughts. Just as he slipped and started to fall, Cole grabbed his frost coated hand and glared at the ice ninja. An apologetic gaze is Cole's reply, to which Cole just nods and gestures his head toward Kai, who is down at the bottom. They need to get down there. Having Zane hold onto his back, he starts to rappel down-only to hear Kai _scream_. It's a pained, sharp scream..and the flame goes out below them. In the pitch black, all they can hear is voices. Zane can feel uncertainty rising in the back of his mind. The snakes knew they'd come after her. But who attacked Kai? A swift noise through the air is his only warning as the rope is suddenly cut. As they fall, Cole flips Zane around to hold him in his arms, curling around the droid protectively. Zane braces for impact, keeping his body loose in Cole's protective grip. If he tenses, his likelihood of being injured is greater. Sure, he's a nindroid..but he can still receive damage from a fall. He feels Cole doing the same. Going with the flow of the fall won't guarantee a safe landing, but it certainly decreases their risk of breaking bones.

He feels Cole turn them to the side as they fall, grunting when they finally land. "You alright, Z?" It's a worried whisper from the master of earth, who slowly unwraps his arms from the nindroid. Zane slowly flexes, nodding silently and patting Cole's arm in reassurance. "Kai..? Where are you man? We heard you scream.." Cole whispers, shaking his head. "No answer.." Zane feels uneasy about this now. They're already down a team member. "Cole..do you have the back up flashlights?" Some silent shuffling, and the droid is handed a tiny flashlight. "Huh.." Cole seems curious as he slowly scans the room with the light. "No one in here. I wonder who got Kai." Zane seems to bristle in fear. An unseen enemy? How? Silently traversing the tomb with Cole, Zane begins running over scenarios in his head. Was Deity okay? Where were the snakes? Were they further down? One thing was for sure. It was cold down here. Most of this tomb is icy walls and floors. Is Deity warm enough? He shakes his head, feeling Cole rub his back. "You're okay, Z." Zane can see another level down a dark hallway. Glancing around, he sees..nothing. More ice. They cautiously head down the hallway, keeping their lights as dim as possible. Cole flinches, nudging Zane. He saw something move in the shadows. "Z, what was that..?" Zane frowns, trying to shine his light-only to have it die out. Batteries. He hated that. They always seemed to die right when you needed them.

"Does yours work?" He can hear Cole shaking his flashlight. "Nope. But seriously, what was- _ **HRK-!**_ " Zane hears his brother grunt in pain and hit the wall, and his heavy breathing from the shock of being caught off guard. He can smell blood. Cole is **hurt**. Is this the same creature that got Kai? Lost in his thoughts, Zane receives a swift kick to his jaw, and is sent back into the wall with Cole. He grunts, trying to maintain focus. What _is_ this thing? The kick was heavy..it hurt more than usual.. trying to collect his thoughts, Zane feels a blade swiftly wedged into his arm, and twisted. His mouth is covered as a sickening feel of pain rushes through him. The mystery attacker slowly drags the blade from Zane's wound with a sickening pop..only to jab it into Cole's leg. Cole's pained scream echoes in the hallway of the tomb, and Zane feels guilty..whoever this was, if Zane and Cole tried to fight now, they'd be weakened. That's when he hears it. A soft, melodic voice, full of malice and hatred..right by his ear as he's slowly losing consciousness, as is Cole. Had the blade been coated in something? He feels so..tired.. Is that..Deity talking?

 _ **"Such a pity..you couldn't even protect yourself. Viper says I get to have fun with you. But for now..Goodnight."**_


	6. Friendship Lies and True Love Lies

Deity kicked the sleeping droid, and Cole. **Hard.** She watches Viper grinning from under her hood. "Shall we tie them when they wake, Master?" The snake shakes his head, watching his puppet and her captives. "The room iss..fairly large. Let them try to run." Zane can hear someone talking as he wakes-the kick doesn't phase him, as his body is still trying to register his surroundings. Shakily lifting his head, he looks at the masked woman though blurry eyes. His body needs to wake up! Who knows what could happen if he was sluggish. "Who..are..you?" Zane is shakily standing, seeing Cole doing the same. But where is Kai? As his eyes focus, he can see a slumped over and bloody man in the back corner of the room. He can feel fear rising in the back of his mind. Is..Is that Kai? Is that his brother? Cole grunts as he shifts to his unharmed leg. He leans on Zane, looking at the masked woman. "Just who the hell are you?! Answer us!" Viper nods at Deity..as if giving her permission. The masked woman slowly reaches under her hood and unlatches the mouth cover. As it slips down, Cole and Zane both seem to loose their breath. The bottom half of Deity's scar on the right side of her face is visible. "No..No you can't be serious-" The fear in Zane's voice is audible and _painful_.

Cole won't believe it. It's a trick, right? "I'll ask one more time! Who. Are. You?!" A slow building, slightly malicious laugh erupts from the pale lips of the half masked woman. "Aw..what's the matter..?" She slowly tugs the hood with the eye cover attachment back. There she was. Deity. But she looked..sinister. Sapphire eyes hardened and unfeeling. Coal black waves of hair falling to her shoulders as the hood is pulled away, a crooked grin creeps into her face. "Don't you recognize your _Songbird?"_ Viper chuckles. "Iss that what he callss you?" Deity just stares coldly ahead, watching Zane. "Look at you, brother." 'Brother' comes out of her mouth full of hatred and disgust. "A useless, heartless pile of scrap and mismatched parts." She sounds sincere as she hurls the painful words at the ice elemental. Viper can't help but grin as he watches, seeing Cole eyeing the exit. Zane's gaze slowly turns hurt. "Deity, you don't mean that, you-" He watches the snake she's close to make a swift hand movement-and within moments Zane receives a harsh right hook. He stumbles into Cole, who begins to pick Zane up to carry him out...only to receive a quick knife to the leg she'd damaged earlier. The earth elemental cringes and drops his brother-right into Deity's line of fire. Shoving his girlfriend off after receiving a few kinfe blows to his leg and left side, he pauses when he hears her speak. "And you! Why would I _ever_ love you?!" She jabs the astonished earth elemental in the shoulder, twisting the barbed knife into the wound. "No! No you don't mean that!"

Deity rips the blade from Cole's shoulder without care, backing up when Zane stands in front of the injured earth elemental. "I _do_ mean it. I could **never** love a heartless monster like you." Cole holds his bleeding shoulder, trying to keep his weight on the uninjured leg. "Zane, she-" Cole's eyes widen as he backs away. Deity has shoved her knife into Zane's left shoulder joint, and one into his chest-she narrowly missed his power source. A strangled scream leaves the droid, and he stalls, straining against his sister as she begins bending the knife stuck in his shoulder joint. She's trying to pry it off him. As she's prying however, Deity becomes misty-eyed, and the tears spill over. It's silent crying, but no sound comes out. She just watches Zane as she manages to wedge his shoulder apart from his arm-even if its just a little. She pulls her fist back and punches the droid off the blade in his shoulder, watching him land a little bit away from her. Making her way back toward him, she grunts when Cole shoves her back with his uninjured arm. "Deity, stop! You can't be serious, siding with these snakes-" The next thing out of the earth elemental's mouth is pained-but short lived scream of surprise as Deity jabs the barbed knife into his bicep. She twists it, tormenting the tensed muscle until Cole's grip loosens and he darts back, shakily standing. His black suit is torn from the stabs and stained with blood. He's hurt, but as he watches the angry look on his girlfriend's face..he grimaces. She's covered in synthetic blood and oil from their brother. And she has no remorse on her face.

Zane shakily stands, now seeing his bloodied brother trying to fend off Deity. She's precise in her attacks-but ruthless. Running over in time to block what would have been a life threatening blow to Cole, Zane's facial expression slowly shifts to a silent, pained scream. Deity's knives have landed in Zane's stomach and his back. She had been planning to hit Cole from the front and back. His voice glitches as he looks at his sister, coughing a mix of red and black onto her clothes. The mixture slowly leaks over his suit and out of his mouth as she rips her blades from him, and Zane shakily stands. His legs aren't hurt. He can still stand..sort of. "S..StOP-" Deity seems to consider this for a moment-a false performance of concern. "No, no I don't think so. I could rip you apart with no remorse." Deity tugs Zane closer to her. "Because you're an emotionless, failed experiment to make a child. You can't feel anything. You can't love. You're a robot. Nothing more than gears and cogs-." She rips his suit top open with her bloody, oily knife-exposing his bolted together body. "Look at you. Trying to retain the humanity you never had." A shaky grunt catches their attention as Kai forcibly stands with Cole's help. The brunette coughs, holding his ribs. "My brother..is a nindroid. He will always be, my brother." It's a weak smile that spreads across Zane's face-until Deity moves her leg back and kicks Zane down into the icy floor of the tomb. "This is your fault, you know. Maybe if you taught me more about snakes, I wouldn't have been caught. I wouldn't have struggled against the Constrictai!" Cole and Kai both look up as she speaks this-and watches her kick the droid in his side. He hadn't taught her about snakes? Zane shuts his eyes. Along with the searing pain, he can feel guilt creeping into him as she speaks. She's right. He hadn't taught her much about the world outside the ship.

"It's _**YOUR**_ fault I wasn't ready!" She kicks the droid once more, now heading for Cole. She can hear the droid shakily standing behind her, as she watches Cole push Kai out of harms way. The earth elemental grunts as he catches a shallow stab to his chest. It doesn't go in very deep because Cole has gripped her and shoved her into a nearby wall. "What are you doing?!" It's an angry shout-Cole truly believes she's sided with the snakes. He carefully catches the hand that's attempting to stab him again, and gets close to her face, looking her in the eyes. "Come on now. This isn't you. This isn't my Songbird. I love you, Deity..don't do this." One hand tightly gripping the arm that's struggling to stab him, Cole takes his free hand and strokes her cheek with his thumb. Her angry gaze seems to falter for a moment, and that's when Cole sees it. She slowly blinks, a red glaze over her eyes when she opens them next. He pauses, carefully examining her eyes. This is a dangerous thing to do, but he has to be sure. This looks so familiar.. That's it! "Zane, Kai!" His grip loosens on Deity, and he turns to his brothers. "She's hyp- _ **HRK!"**_ Deity's hypnosis takes hold again with a brief glare from Viper, who is currently in the corner watching his puppet. Deity reaches and stabs Cole in the back of his injured leg, causing the earth elemental to grunt and grip the wall for support. Zane has been trying to radio for back up, trying to keep himself online long enough to get the others here. He feels like he's dying..wires cut and frayed in his shoulder, back and stomach. He's lost a lot of oil and synthetic blood, but manages to talk to Jay over the static radio signal. "Need..ba-back up..se-se-severe injury.." His shaky voice glitches as he talks. Moments later the snakes are retreating as Jay and Lloyd run into the chamber.

Jay scans the room..and feels his stomach churn. The scent of oil and the metallic of blood hits his nose. It's nearly enough to make him pull his mask up and spill the contents of his stomach on the icy floor..but he takes a deep breath and tries to find his brothers-and Deity. Shining the torch around the chamber, his breath catches in his throat. Deity is poised in the corner, her clothes splattered with human blood and oil..a crimson and oily splatter across her unfeeling face is unsettling. He's never seen their sister this way. Turning the torch to the floor, he can feel shock creeping into his body. A heavily injured Kai and Cole are keeping a critically damaged Zane steady, preventing him from passing out and going offline. "Who..who did this?" But he knows the answer. The snakes are gone and Deity is standing like a puppet awaiting orders in the corner. She's covered in the blood and oil of her brothers and her boyfriend. Hearing Lloyd run up behind him, Jay goes to help Kai, while he and Lloyd tend to Cole. He watches Zane shakily stand, holding his head and wiping the oil mixture from his mouth. "I am f-fi-fi-fine, JaY." The droid obviously lies, ignoring the severity of his wounds. His fault. This is his fault. Wintry blue eyes slowly drift to Deity standing in the corner. He attempts to walk to her-only to be tugged back by Jay as she seems to slowly turn her head in their direction, slowly pulling her blades from their bloody holsters. A silent command was given. Jay and Lloyd scramble to get Zane, Cole and Kai to the main chamber of the tombs. As they run, Deity is close behind..although she is still a little slow on her prosthetic. Jay is panting, shakily speaking into his radio. "Nya, lower the anchor. NOW. HURRY." Nya is confused, but carefully lowers the anchor into the opening of the tomb, making sure it's placed right.

As they ascend into the air, all five ninja hold on as tight as possible to the rope-only to see Deity lunging after them. She's got a grappling hook, climbing along the outcroppings in the tomb to get to the opening. "Nya, pull us up! Faster, I- _ **HRK!"**_ Jay grunts as he catches a thrown dagger from Deity in his shoulder. The anchor starts lifting faster, but Zane can only stare down into the abyss at his hate filled sister. This is his fault. If..he'd taught her about the snakes, she would've come home with them. She wouldn't even be in this mess, if he'd taught her properly. Pulling his gaze away from her as he leans against Lloyd, the injured droid becomes lost in his thoughts. What ifs and why didn't I's. Jay can see Deity climbing out of the opening of the tomb as they lift out of it, shaking her fists. She's cursing at them and seeming to think about her next step. Zane gives one last look at his sister as the anchor finally gets to the ship.

 _ **'I am so sorry.'**_


	7. I Will Always Bring You Home

As soon as they got back into the ship, Zane could feel the guilt bubble in his chest as he glanced from one set of eyes to another. Cole looked hurt-but he also looked angry. Livid, in fact, that Zane had never told Deity about the snakes, or the dangers of the world outside the ship. The master of earth was being patched up by Kai, and ran a bloody hand through his shaggy black hair, red eyes a mix of distraught for his girlfriend's safety-and anger toward the nindroid. His voice seemed to echo in an angry bark at the ice elemental as he spoke. "Why didn't you tell her about the snakes, huh?!" He tried to hold back the anger in his voice. "It could've been so much worse, Zane. Jay had a dagger in his shoulder, I'm cut up and I'm sure my leg is damaged-" He took a shaky breath and shut his eyes, swallowing the vile words that tried to come up his throat. Zane looked at his feet, shutting his eyes. His only response was silence and a guilty look. Kai began to add to Cole's words, biting off a stitching thread from Cole's bicep as it was tied off and secured to get rid of the extra thread. He spat it out quickly and glared at the droid. "Yeah! And look what happened, Zane. You let Deity get caught. She's hypnotized and if you had just told her of the dangers, you wouldn't have put all of us in danger! This never would've happened if you had actually taught her something for once, instead of being afraid of-!" Kai bit back his words, shaking his head and restraining his verbal assault. He continued to focus on Cole's wounds, while Lloyd silently came over to patch the more serious wounds on Zane up. He silently stopped the young green master..a look between them was all it took. Even Lloyd knew when to leave Zane be.

Jay just leaned against the wall, his arms folded gently as to not irritate his bandaged shoulder. He didn't even _look_ at Zane. The lightning master's gaze was empty and cold as he gazed at the floor-which seemed to deserve his attention much more than Zane. The droid wanted to run away..but he couldn't move. At least, not as fast as he would've liked to. "I.." He began, opening his eyes halfway as he tried to find the right words. His voice wavered. Did he even have the right to speak to them after all this? "I..I am so sorry.." It was a guilty whisper that left the ice master's lips as he backed out of the medical bay. He slowly walked to his room, keeping his head down. The guilt was clawing at the back of his mind. _'Look what you've done, Zane..you found a little sister and you treated her like a porcelain doll.'_ Slowly opening the door to his bedroom, he locked the door behind him and flopped down on the bed. Zane could only stare outward at the corner of his bed where Deity used to sit during late nights when they couldn't sleep. Another pang of guilt ran through his body. He seemed to stare into nothing, letting his guilty thoughts eat him alive from the inside out. _'Could I have been a better teacher? A better brother? Was..was I too attached to my little sister?'_ He shakes the last question from his mind, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. Surely, he was attached, but he was only scared of her losing her life. Opening his eyes to stare at the corner of the bed again, his wintry blue eyes slowly drift their gaze to the mirror across the room. _'It's my fault, isn't it? What do I do?'_ His reflection seemingly replied to him, feeding into his guilt and self blame. _**'They are angry with you. They do not want you here.'**_ The droid in the mirror sadly shook his head. _**'You must leave. You hurt them all, Zane..you have always done so. Cole is corrupted due to you. Jay will forever hold a grudge deep in his heart against you because of your actions that day. Deity, Kai, Nya and Lloyd-they have all suffered from Cole's outbursts that**_ _ **you**_ _ **allowed to happen.'**_ The reflection seemed to sneer at him. _**'Who is the true monster?'**_

Zane shut his eyes, knowing the answer. "I..I am. I am the monster." A painful tone of realization due to immense guilt echoed in the droid's voice. Opening his eyes and getting off the bed, Zane looked around his room. He would leave. He only grabbed his hood to hide his face, carefully sliding out of his bedroom window. He held onto the side of the ship to silently close the window behind him, he carefully slid down the side of the parked ship into the snow. As he began silently walking into the night, his chest felt tight and his throat burned. Was..was he crying? He wiped his eyes under the hood, feeling the guilt building more. He shook his head and carefully tightened his hood. No. He shouldn't be allowed to scream.. or cry.. or..or worry about his little sister. He paused and shut his eyes tightly, forcing this painful feeling back down. He was..just a robot after all, right? He looked at the snowy ground half lidded..then began to pick up some speed as he started walking again. He kept a gentle stride, and silently puffed his way along. He began to head upward into the frozen north of the Glacier Barrens. He would make this right. He would find her. No one gets left behind. They all promised that-not just Zane and Deity. _'I will always bring you home, little sister.'_

Slither rose an eyebrow as she carefully examined the man in white laying face down in the snow. She didn't understand why a human would be taking a short slumber in such a cold place-then she heard it. Zane slowly forced himself up in the snow, a low whirring emitting from his body. He was so..tired. The young Venomari let out the tiniest gasp of excitement when the man pulled off his hood and shook the snow from it. This was a ninja! She silently clapped her clawed hands together-then stopped when Zane's swiveled around to look at her from such a tiny noise. Goodness! This one had excellent hearing-almost as good as the assassin that had come through earlier. The ice elemental slowly tugged his hood back on, making sure his wounds were indeed still frozen shut. His voice was kind-Zane saw no reason not to be kind...he hadn't seen any Venomari with Deity in the tomb. "Excuse me..." He paused. Slender female markings. "Miss..I..I was wondering if you'd seen a woman clad in nothing but black..she would look incredibly angry, very determined on her path? Perhaps violent?" Zane tried to mimic Deity's height with his hands. Slither's hood puffed up and rose in slight anger-which faltered upon Zane's guilty look. "Oh..Oh my she..she's special to you, isn't she mister ninja?" He chuckled. "Zane. My name is Zane..and yes. She.." He sighed, feeling the guilt bubble up in his chest again. "She is my little sister.. she was hypnotized by-" Slither can feel her breath catch in her throat. She knows who he's talking about. "Is..is it Viper? He was always making sure trouble!" She crossed her arms. Zane seemed to perk up at this information. "Yes! Can you get me the-"

Slither stops him. "The staff that you seek, I cannot take. King Skales is very...protective of it. He is the current general, after all." The Venomari seems so curious about Zane and his predicament. "Is she a ninja as well? Didn't..you all have a flute some moons ago to fight the snakes?" Zane looks down and shakes his head sadly. "No, no that was destroyed, but I had a recor..-" He slowly lifts his head as realization crosses his face. "The..The recording, I-" He glances at the snake. "Which way did she go?" Slither carefully points toward the floating ship in the distance..and Zane feels fear creeping into his mind. "How long ago?" The young Venomari's tongue flicks out-the man smelled like guilt. "Ten minutes ago. Tell me..may I visit you ninja soon? You seem very..interesting." Zane paused and watched the snake. "Maybe when..she's better." He bolted off in the direction of the ship, racing through the snow. He could handle this, right? Right? "I will find her. I- _ **HRK!"**_ Zane's optics flashed as a dagger landed in his back from behind. He bent over, shakily forcing himself to stand. "D..Deity-" He reached back and tugged the dagger out, turning around to look at his sister-only to be blindsided by another dagger to his shoulder. The droid tried his best to keep his stance. She was _faster_. For once..he was scared. He shook the fright from his mind, grunting as he caught a frontal blow from his sister, keeping his arms crossed against her attack in a defensive stance. "You must stop this!" Zane shouted, starting to play the flute recording-only to have Deity choke him. "Hhhh-" Zane rasped against the strong metal grip of his sister's right hand, grunting as the recording cut out. Deity's blows were swift as soon as she let go of Zane.

Zane managed to get a few in-as much as he could against the daughter of an assassin. He was scared of fatally wounding her, so his blows had been mostly defensive-a few stabs to her arm and leg. Zane was much worse off, however. Bleeding from multiple entry points. The weakened ice elemental grunted as Deity shoved him back into a snow covered tree-and she came in for a swift blow to his power source. He had moments to react-shakily gasping and catching her hand with the blade inches from the humming power source in his chest. "D..Deity-" Zane was shaking, his voice broke. "D..Don't do this. You'll kill me!" His voice glitched as he began to cry, ugly scared sobs coming from the ice master. "I..I don'T wa-wa-want to dIE." He watched his hate filled sister, sparking and struggling to hold her hand back. "I...I want to szzst-sta-stay with you, and the team, even th-tho-though they hhhhHate me right now." The poor droid was struggling to stay online, body overheating as his internal systems tried to divert power to vital functions because of just how badly she'd injured him. Vital functions. _Vital_. Saving her was vital. She was family. That would never change. Never in his lifetime would he ever consider her anything other than his family. His..person. One of the best friends he's ever had.

Her hand wasn't on his throat right now, and he knew even diverting the tiniest bit of power to his speakers was a risk. But...wasn't saving family worth the risk? His blurred vision glanced in the distance to see the young Venomari watching this exchange. Curious little snake. Zane's glitching wintry blue eyes drifted to his angry sister, seeing the red glaze over her eyes as she watched him cry. If he didn't time this right..she could destroy his power source-or worse, it would electrocute her and throw her back a few feet. It happened in a brief moment that seemed to go so slow for Zane. He took a shaky breath and let the recording play as he struggled to keep the tip of the dagger away from his chest. _'Please..this has to work..'_ Zane lost the fight with the dagger as the shrill sound of the flute caused Deity to wail and cover her ears. As though she were in pain-he knew it was only her trying to fight it. Zane slumped to the snowy ground, turning the flute recording up louder and losing more vital functions. His eyes glitched and he slowly forced himself up as best he could, struggling to stand. "Deity..-" Zane watched the red slowly fade from her eyes, seeing a look of pain and horrific realization cross her face as Zane's efforts to keep the recording playing cut out. The droid slumped forward, face first into the snow at his sister's feet as his body went offline to reserve power. "I..I..I was-" She looked at the synthetic blood and oil leaking into the white snow. "I was forced, Zane..I-" She shakily dropped the oily blade and leaned down, struggling to pick the blonde up bridal style.

She tensed when she felt a clawed hand on her shoulder. Whipping around to see the young Venomari, she watched the snake hand her Zane's hood-which Slither gently sat on his chest. "He fights not just for you, you know." She tilted her head, hood risen slightly in curiosity. "You are vital to him in the way a loyal right hand is to a general..how strange..such a strong platonic bond.." Deity was too focused on the heavily injured droid in her arms. "Thank you..I-" She'd done such horrible things to Zane and..oh god, the nerves she'd cut in Cole's leg-. She wouldn't cry. Not now. Thanking the snake and slowly trudging toward the Bounty with Zane in her arms, Deity watched Zane power on for a brief second. It was a slightly creepy thing to see..barely turned on optic sensors and a smile slowly forming on his face. It was a weak voice that left the droid.

 _ **"I will...always bring you..home."**_


	8. Actions Have Consequences

Deity silently trudges through the snow of Glacier barrens, struggling to carry her brother's heavy body. She had damaged him in her previous assault while she was hypnotized-and this current one. Should she be scared to come back to the ship? Deity had severed nerves in Cole's leg, beat Kai..and stabbed Jay. She had been hypnotized and wasn't acting of her own free will, but still. Taking a calming breath as she looks at the hovering ship, she calls up to it, seeing Lloyd cleaning the snow off the deck. "Hey! Green Bean! Can I get a little help?!" The green clad figure on the deck pauses, slowly peering over the side of the ship. Is it a trick? Some muffled shouting leaves Lloyd, and the anchor lowers down to the ground. As soon as they get into the ship, Deity struggles to carry the shut down droid any further-so she leans him against the wall. Deity pauses to rest, looking at the floor as she hears heavy, limping footsteps. Cole. She can tell it's Cole because of the footsteps-and the limping. He's putting pressure on his right leg to support the left and keep weight off it. Cole's calloused hand slowly cups her cheek and lifts her head to make her look at him. Thankfully, the hallway is mostly empty and no one else has come to see if Deity really is back. Cole's red eyes watch his girlfriend, examining her eyes. Pretty sapphire blue. No red to be seen. "There she is..there's my Songbird. You came back..how?" Deity gestures to the shut down droid propped up against the wall, wincing because she gestured with her prosthetic. Zane was heavy and the prosthetic given to her by the snakes is shoddily made. It's tugging on the nerves in her arm.

"Zane ah..Zane played a recording..I've never heard it before, but..soon I was clear headed and free." Deity averts her gaze from Cole. She's ashamed..her scream had tired her out and caused her to be weak-which made her easy to capture. Deity had lost her will too easily..but she'd never blame Zane. He had his reasons for not telling her about the Serpentine. Cole tugs her head back in his direction and strokes her cheek with a calloused thumb. "Deity, look at me..please?" His deep voice shakes her from her negative thoughts, and she glances up at him. "Cole, I'm so sorry-" Deity's voice cracks in shame. "I got caught and hypnotized and I hurt you-" She's shaking. Cole shakes his head. "Deity, it wasn't you.. it was your body, and your mother's blood and instincts..but the Deity the team and I know would never act that way." Deity leans into his touch, shutting her eyes. "You should hate me, Cole. I damaged you, and..and look at what I did to the others!" She protests, feeling Cole gently shake her to make her look at him. Deity opens her eyes to look at Cole, eyes watering. "Deity, if you've never hated me for what I've done to you and for what it will.." He sighs, watching her. "What it will probably make me do in the future..then I can't hate you for what you did to me and the team." Cole lets go of her cheek and tugs her into his arms, squeezing her. "It's okay. It really is." He kisses the top of her head. Cole holds her like that for a little bit, then slowly lets her go. "Now, lets get you looked at. Your prosthetics are bothering you." Cole begins to lead her away, but Deity frowns. "Wh..What about Zane? He's hurt, he had to shut down to reserve power-" Cole visibly tenses, then sighs.

"Fine. But we're still a little upset with him..because he didn't tell you about the snakes. He didn't tell you about a lot." Deity frowns, watching Cole heft Zane's body over his shoulder. "Cole, what are you talking about?" Deity limps after him, seeing Jay come out of the medical bay-he'd been checking the progress of his own wound. "Deity you're-" Jay's gaze drifts to the beat up and shut down droid on Cole's shoulder, and he grumbles, heading away down the hall. "Now hold on just a damn minute!" Both Jay and Cole flinch. Deity never curses at them-unless she's truly upset. The last time she cursed at them was when they pulled the fake corruption attack prank on her. "Deity you don't understand-" Jay begins, but Deity cuts him off. "No, No. Jay, turn around. Now." The lightning master hesitates, but slowly turns around, crossing his arms. "He put you in danger, which got the team injured." Now Deity crosses her arms, despite the pain her prosthetics are causing her. "Is Zane not part of the team?! Huh?! He's your brother. A teammate. I can't believe you guys! What, would you abandon me if I messed up like Zane did?! Why is it different? Did you know he's on reserve power, Jay? His power source still works, but the damage he sustained because of me.." She takes a breath, trying to calm herself. "He went out, damaged from the previous attack to find me. He got beat up again and struggled so hard with the pain that his optics won't even turn on." Jay watched her. "It can't be that bad-" Deity just glares at Jay, heading over to Zane-who is being carried belly up on Cole's shoulder. She opens his chest panel up and feels around for the power switch.

As she flips it on, Zane grunts weakly in pain and his expression shifts from blank to pained. His eyes don't light up, pitch black sockets staring emptily ahead at Jay and Deity. "WHy am I powerrred oN? Evverything hurrrTS.. J-jaayyY, y..yoU are ssztill angrrry-" Zane can't stay powered on for long, as being on is depleting his reserve power. Oil and synthetic blood leak onto Cole from all his injuries, and Cole visibly shivers, keeping his grip on the droid. Jay's face shifts from anger and reluctance to worry as Zane powers off, the sound of the switch snapping back into the off position is the only thing that echoes in the silence that hangs between the four ninja in the hallway. Jay frowns. "Deity, I-" She looks away from Jay. "No. Don't apologize to me. Help me repair our brother, and then when he powers on..apologize to him." She silently shuts Zane's chest panel, turning away from the two as she limps into the medical bay with Cole following close behind, then Jay. Jay hooks Zane up to some mechanisms to repair him, silently working on him while Cole sits next to Deity. "Deity, we just..why would he withhold information about the Serpentine and stuff like that from you?" Deity sighs and stares at the floor. "Cole..he's..he's probably scared. Zane has.." Deity lifts her head to look at the droid Jay is working on. "He saved my life, and suffered a mental break because of it. I call him human all the time. No matter how he looks or what happens. I'm his little sister, Cole. I have a close bond with him. Weren't you scared for me to know something once upon a time, too?" Cole tenses, then sighs and relaxes. "Yeah..Yeah I was. It was life threatening, too. Like the Serpentine can be. A bit worse than them, but.."

Jay looks up from working on Zane and grumbles. "Yeah but-" Deity doesn't look at him. "I'm not talking to you. You didn't want to repair a teammate. Jerk." Jay looks at her in disbelief. "Jerk..? Deity, Zane-" Her tone is sharp. "He what? He had a natural human reaction and got scared?!" Jay silently looks down at his wrench and toys with it. She's right. He won't admit it because she doesn't want to talk to him right now, but she's right. Cole tugs Deity close and kisses the top of her head. "Calm down, Songbird. Anger won't solve anything..not right now." He rubs her arm, being careful with her prosthetic arm that's clearly hurting her. "Jay, when Zane is done, will you help her with this? I know there's a bit of medical involved in her prosthetics because of it being attached to her nerves and all..so we do need Zane up and running." The master of lightning silently nods, peering inside his fallen teammate and continuing repairs. Cole watches Jay work, then looks down at Deity. "Y'know, I yelled at Zane. You mad at me too?" Deity looks up in time to see Cole pouting, his expression apologetic. She just watches him for a moment. "Are you sorry you yelled at him?" Cole is silently watching his girlfriend. He did yell at Zane out of anger-and confusion as to why Zane had kept information from Deity..but he understands now. "Yeah..Yeah I'm sorry I yelled at Zane. Now that I understand why he didn't tell you much." She adjusts herself in his arms, trying to get comfortable. "Then I'm not _as_ mad at you. You should all apologize to Zane once he's repaired and awake." Cole takes a breath and rubs Deity's head.

 _ **"Sometimes apologies are hard to believe, Songbird."**_


	9. Apologies and New Strategies

Zane's repairs have taken a full two weeks to finish-and Jay is just now putting the finishing touches on the silent droid laying on the bed inside the medical bay of the Bounty. Cole has come and gone from the medical bay, checking in occasionally, but Deity refused to move. Despite the searing pain from her Serpentine made prosthetics falling apart, Deity hasn't really moved from her chair. She left to shower and eat occasionally, but other than that..she stayed beside her brother. Jay lifted his head from inside Zane, wiping his oily face. He knows Deity is still a little angry with him..but he has to ask. "Why do you stay in here so much? You even sleep in here, Melody. Do you not trust me with Zane or-" Deity tiredly lifts her head, letting out a sigh. "No, it's not that. I trust you with Zane. I really do. Its just..he stayed by my bedside for two years, Jay. Two weeks is nothing compared to that. He took care of me and watched over me, so I will do the same for him." Jay toys with the oily rag he's been using to clean his hands. Deity has a deep sibling bond with Kai, Jay and Lloyd-as well as with Nya..but it was nothing compared to what she had with Zane. Zane had grown attached to Deity, because she treated him with respect, as if he were human like everyone else. Zane really needed that-and everyone else on the ship knew it, too. "Melody, you really care about Zane, huh?" Jay sets the rag down and goes back to connecting the last few wires. "Yeah..I do. I love my big brother. He's wonderful." Deity stretches and winces. "Stupid prosthetics.."

Jay grunts as he shoves the last wire into place, closing Zane's chest panel and hoping for the best. "I've got your replacements made and ready to attach. As well as a few other things I was planning to save for your birthday." He goes to the sink to wash his hands, sighing. "I hope I did it right. Zane is complicated to work on." As soon as Jay says this, a tired groan echoes from the droid on the bed-which causes Deity to snap from her thoughts. "Zane?" Jay comes over after drying his hands. "Give him a second, Deity. Takes a minute for him to boot up after something like that." Deity carefully watched the droid, seeing Zane's blue optics slowly flicker on. It takes him a moment, but Zane slowly sits up, holding his head. "I..I survived?" He takes a slow breath, looking around the room. Jay is rubbing Deity's back as they watch the droid. "You okay, Ice Cube? Jay did his best..you've been out for two weeks." Zane seems a little alarmed at this. "Two weeks? Those Serpentine have likely advanced toward villages and may be headed toward the city by now-" Deity shakes her head. "Calm down, brother. You're okay. Cole and Kai have been running recon and interference with Lloyd while you've been out." As they talk, she nudges Jay forward. "Go on, Jay." The lightning master sighs and watches Zane. "Listen Zane..I'm ah..I'm real sorry that I got mad at you over Deity. We understand, now. She explained it to Kai and I, and Cole." Jay sighs a little. "You have to understand that we're _all_ scared of losing her. She's family." Zane just listens to Jay. "I..accept your apology, but-" He pauses when he sees his little sister wincing.

"Is she alright?" Jay shakes his head. "Nah, Z. The prosthetics the Serpentine gave her are falling apart and tugging on her nerves. Think you can help me fix her up so we can go kick some snake butt?" Zane merely nods, chuckling. After Deity is repaired in the next few hours, she flexes her new limbs and chuckles. "Alright now Jay, what are these surprises you have for me?" She knows Jay is a bit of an inventor. "Oh just..a few things." Jay sends Zane off to radio for the others to bring them home to the ship-while Jay takes Deity's hand and leads her back to his bedroom. "A few things, huh?" A slow smirk crosses her face. "You mean something the others won't test for you?" Jay shakes his head. "Nope, just for you Melody." Jay opens a clothing box and slowly tugs the brand new lavender ninja suit out. "I had some help from Lloyd, but this one is lightweight. Y'know, so you don't slow down-" Deity watches the form fitting, lightweight suit. She didn't have an official suit-she'd been using a plain lavender one so far. Tight enough to move with her body, but light and loose enough to not inhibit the motion of her prosthetics. "Jay, this.." He just chuckles. "Go change. The guys will be back soon and I wanna get you fitted properly with the suit and a few prototypes." After Deity changes in the bathroom, she slowly comes out-just in time to see the rest of the team walk by in the hallway. Cole pauses and chuckles. "Look at that! A ninja!" Deity rolls her eyes under her hood. "Lets just get to the bridge to discuss this." Heading to the bridge, she feels Jay attaching a few items to the various straps and pouches on her new suit as he walks behind her.

"What are you-" Jay just chuckles and pats her back. "Nothing bad. Just a few new toys for the Siren." Deity merely shakes her head-then pauses when Zane motions for her to stand and lead with Lloyd. "Me?" Zane watches his little sister. "You were in their headquarters, Deity. Before they hypnotized you, you likely heard what they planned." Deity looks a little remorseful for losing her mental will against Viper, but pauses when she feels Lloyd's hand on her back. He's stepping up to his leadership role quite well. "The past is the past. You are not the person the Serpentine wanted you to be. Just as I am not my father's past, you are not your mother's." Deity takes a breath and turns to the monitor, typing a few things in. "Viper said they wanted humans to pay for treating them as second class citizens. The other Serpentine, Skales and the others clearly don't share this line of thinking, but..Viper told me I would be an agent for the new Serpentine uprising. For me to kill and maim..and imprison other human beings without mercy or remorse." A shaky breath leaves her as Lloyd rubs her back, assuring her that it's okay to continue. Deity types in the coordinates of a few nearby villages, shaking her head. "It's been two weeks since I was freed by Zane, and brought him in for repairs, so there's no telling exactly where they are by now...but these are the first villages he wanted to strike." Cole spoke up, shaking his head. "We've been there, Deity. Some destruction and missing people, but nothing else. We think he's made his way near the city by now." Deity swallows. "And where have we sailed to now?"

Lloyd points to the red blip on the map. "We're just now passing the Corridor of Elders, we finished passing over it when everyone came into the bridge." Lloyd gestures out the window to the sand slowly merging into the grass and forests far outside Ninjago City. Kai shakes his head, watching the map. "It's almost sundown, they'll have stopped for the night to make camp. Even snakes get tired." Deity seems to be lost in thought. Operating in the dark is a normal tactic for a ninja, but that would be too expected. Zane lifts his head. "Sister, are you thinking up a strategy?" Deity only nods, seemingly doing math in her head while Lloyd examines the map. "We're still a good two hundred miles outside the city, Deity. We could easily-" Deity nods, agreeing with Lloyd. He doesn't have to say it. "We could easily catch them before they even reach the city, even if we did have a full night of rest first." Lloyd can't help but chuckle at Deity. "Exactly. You have a smart girl there, Cole." The earth master and Deity turn a light shade of pink at the same time. "Yeah well..she's always been smart. She just needed to be able to show it." Zane nods, agreeing with Cole. "She's a very capable ninja." Deity paused, turning to look at Zane. That was the first time she'd ever heard him say something like that about her. "I.." Zane looks down, toying with the pencil he was using to take notes. "I was..scared. I realize now that I can still be protective while teaching you how to be a ninja. Please, forgive me-" Deity only shakes her head. "Nothing to be forgiven for, Zane. You're my big brother. You were protecting me, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Zane nods, trying not to smile. She is right, but he still could've been a better teacher to her. Lloyd knocks on the table to get everyone's attention. "Alright, alright. Let's focus guys. Deity, this is _your_ mission. You need to pick three mains and the rest of us are backup." Deity turns to Lloyd, a little surprised. "My mission?" The green ninja nods, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Despite knowing their plans, having responsibility is part of learning to be a ninja. You're one of us, Deity." Jay nods. "One of us." Kai chuckles and teases the song elemental. "Yeah, Princess. You're a teammate." Cole joins in, agreeing with the others. "You're important, Songbird. A vital part of the team." As they all compliment and encourage her, Deity takes a breath. Three mains and the rest is backup, huh? "Cole, Jay and Zane are my mains." Each ninja named by Deity lifts their heads as their names are called. They nod in confirmation, and Lloyd seems to be thinking. "Alright. So Nya, Kai and myself are backup. Do you want Nya in the ship on standby?" The song elemental pauses. "Yes. But I want Samurai X ready and waiting." Nya salutes Deity, unable to hide a smile. Deity rubs her arm. She can do this, right? Lloyd lifts his head when he notices Deity is shaking from nerves, her gaze to the floor. Lloyd silently motions the others over, having Nya put the ship on a hovering speed. "Hey." Lloyd's voice breaks her out of her anxious thoughts, and Deity lifts her head to see her team around her. Her family. Each ninja-and Nya manages to hug Deity, until they're all in one group hug. Zane shakes his head, laying it on her shoulder, while Cole is behind her. They all squeeze her at once. Zane is the one to speak, now.

 _ **"You will not fight alone..family fights together. We will be with you."**_


	10. Against the Snakes

Deity slowly stretched as she woke up next to Cole that morning-it was still early, but they had to fight today. They had to stop the snakes. As expected, Cole was still snoring away-they'd stayed up the night before working on a strategy, so didn't blame him for being tired. Deity herself has only slept for five hours-which is surprising, seeing as her nightly average is two or three hours. Deity carefully tugged on Cole. "Rocky..wake up honey." Cole silently snores and rolls over toward Deity, laying on her. "No, Jay..you can't put a cake inside a cake, that's madness.." The master of earth murmurs in his sleep, curling around Deity. "Delicious..but madness.." Deity can't help but laugh, sneaking her arms around him the best she can. "Cole..honey, you have to wake up. You're gonna squish me-" She presses a kiss to his neck, chuckling when he gives her a sleepy hug as he wakes up. "Nn..Is it time to get up and fight already?" Cole slowly gets up off of Deity, stretching. "Yes, it is. You, Zane and Jay are my mains, so we need to hurry and get to the bridge." After dressing in their gear, Deity and Cole join the others in the bridge. "Nya, park us behind that set of tall trees." Nya nods, and Deity turns to Zane and Jay, with Cole standing next to her. "Are we clear on what we discussed last night? Never split apart unless another teammate is in danger. Always keep your communication clear and precise." Zane is focused, but he can't help but smile under his hood. "Understood. Now, how do we descend?" Deity pauses at her brother's question as Lloyd and Kai get ready to leave. "Silently. Leave the ship and go through the trees. Vehicles would be too noisy." She crosses her arms, trying to think. "Zane, can you send Falcon off when we descend to survey the area? Jay, I want you and Cole a few feet ahead, ready for anything."

The trio before her all nod in confirmation as they begin to leave the ship, dropping down into the trees. Zane sets Falcon free, shutting his eyes and reopening them to his Falcon Vision. Deity holds up her hand silently to Cole and Jay. "Anything?" Zane tilts his head in mild curiosity. "They are..on the move, but it looks as though they've got a hostage-" He let out a shaky gasp. "Slither. They've captured Slither!" Deity swallowed. The Venomari girl who helped Zane free her. Speaking into her comm link, she hesitated. "Team two, advance behind team one with caution. They have a hostage." Lloyd's voice came over the comm next. "Hostage? Who? Not important. Hostages are to be taken care of first. Team two will proceed with caution as advised." As they silently followed the snakes, Deity waited til the snakes sat Slither down for a rest, then sent Kai down to grab her. Within moments, Slither was in Kai's arms and headed back to the ship. "Hostage secured, proceeded with ambush." Kai's voice echoed in their comm links, and now Deity and her three mains dropped down on the ground, near a cliff. "Viper, we're not letting you get away! Not after what you made me do!" Zane stood by his sister, shuriken out and ready. "And you aren't getting near the city, either." His eyes narrow as Cole readied his scythe. The fight began with Deity leading the charge. Back and forth, slice after slice, Deity did her best against the leader of the uprising. A particularly harsh blow from Viper knocked her back a few feet, but she shakily stood and steadied herself. "Zane, do you remember what we discussed? Stay ready!" Deity said over the comm link, and the droid nodded, fighting off to Deity's left. He grunted and held his shuriken up to block a blow from a Constrictai, blasting the black and orange snake with ice.

"Understood! Make sure the other two are ready!" Deity nodded and looked to Cole, who smacked a Venomari back against a tree with his scythe and strength. "Why don't you take a nap right there!" Cole said, the line finishing his harsh blow. Deity rolled her eyes and chuckled, only to be kicked back by a Fangpyre defending Viper. Deity grunted as she landed harshly on the ground, and both Jay and Zane stood in front of her as she shakily got up, cracking her neck. "You leave our sister alone!" The lightning master's hands sparked, as Zane stood defensively by his side. They were giving her time to get herself steady again. Jay zapped the snake, as Deity came up behind them. "Alright, alright boys. I'm good, lets just fight. For the city!" She said as she lunged a full frontal attack with Zane and Jay, the trio beating back the snakes-until more came from inside the forest. They were getting outnumbered. Deity grunted as she took a right hook from a Constrictai, falling back. "Deity, get up!" It was Lloyd's voice in her comm link, as he watched from the trees with Kai. "You can do this! Zane, Jay and Cole can't take them on alone! Get up, Siren!" Deity grunted and shakily forced herself into a sitting position, holding her jaw. "Where is.." Lloyd had left the shadows to help her stand, watching Kai trying to beat back the snakes with Zane, Jay and Cole. "Over there. Come on, Siren. I'll help you stand, just tell me what you need." Deity shakily stands with Lloyd's help, taking a breath and briefly stretching. "Get the boys back here, and hold the line with Samurai X and Kai." Lloyd nods, doing as he's told. "Zane, Ice!" It takes the droid a minute, but Zane focuses and creates an ice ramp. "Good. Jay, Cole, you ready?" Jay is running behind Deity as they run up the ramp with Cole at the top, pushing her up the slick ice to help her momentum.

"Ready. You sure you can handle Cole doing that?" Deity nods as they near the top, swallowing. "I've handled worse. He won't hurt me." Jay only nods, giving her a final push toward Cole. "Full speed, Cole! Throw her!" Cole gave a grunt of confirmation as he caught Deity's gloved hand, spinning once and tossing her out over the snakes in an arc. "Zane! Cover your ears! All of you!" All did as they were told, as Deity took a deep, quick breath. As she sailed over the snakes, she let out a loud, high pitched sonic scream, watching the Serpentine wail and cover their ears in horror. She grunted as she landed in the open palm of the Samurai X mech, taking a few breaths to try and calm down. That always took a lot out of her. "Are you okay?" Kai called over the comm link, as Deity nodded and waved to the fire master down below. A few of the Serpentine flee, but the majority of them recover as they fight the rest of the ninja. Climbing down off the mech, Deity heads back over to the other side to fight with Jay, Cole and Zane. "Kai! Lloyd! Fight from the other side and we'll try and push them back from both sides!" As they fight, Deity notices a few Serpentine heading in the direction of the ship. "Plan change. Kai, Lloyd and Samurai X, defend the Bounty and Slither!" Deity grunts as she's pushed by the snakes, trying to hold them back with Cole and Zane. "Jay! Zap a few to give us some breathing room here!" Jay nods and runs off to the right side of the snakes, zapping as many as he can without overexerting himself. A small portion of the snakes retreat, but Viper is still leading the charge. "Stubborn Hypnobrai!" Viper hisses and shoves Deity, grunting as he punches her in the stomach. "Pathetic failure!" Viper retorts, as Deity slams her sai into his arm.

"At least I don't have to hypnotize others to do my dirty work!" Viper recoils back, holding his bleeding arm. "Acrid! Fire!" A Venomari whips his head around and spits venom, only for it to be blocked by Cole's arm. The earth master shakes the venom off his arm and punches the Venomari in the face. "Didn't mama snake ever teach you it's not polite to spit at people?! Zane, freeze'em out!" Zane looks at Deity to make sure she's alright, then nods and blasts a few snakes with ice-including the Venomari that tried to put venom in Deity's eyes. The snakes are becoming fewer in number..but there's still so many. As the fight goes on, Deity doesn't realize she's being singled out. The snakes are retreating. Why are they retreating? Only four snakes remain, while the rest hang back. "You're a dissgrace to your mother'ss name!" Viper taunts, shoving Deity back while Cole, Jay and Zane are fighting the other three snakes. "My mother was a strong woman, and despite her job, she would've never worked for a snake like you!" A swift, hard punch from Viper is all it takes for her to realize why she was being pushed away from the others. Viper and the other three snakes retreat as Deity falls off the cliff, only to shakily grip the cliff's edge. "Guys! I'm slipping!" The gloved fingers of her human hand slip one by one off the cliff. "Cole! Anchor!" Jay yells, and the three form a human ladder with Cole as the anchor, and Zane at the very end. Zane grabs Deity's hand just as she loses her grip and falls, with Jay holding the nindroid's legs. "Zane! Pull her up!" Jay calls from behind the him. Zane slowly pulls her up-only to have her slip back down. "Frosty! What's the hold up down there?!" Zane flinches at Cole's worried voice over the comm link, seeing the slight fear in his sister's eyes. Deity and Zane's hands are shaking, fingers tense but losing strength. Zane calls back over the comm link, his voice panicked.

 _ **"I can't hold her! My fingers are slipping!"**_


	11. What I was Built for

His fingers were slipping. Deity could see the worry spreading across Zane's face..and he had every right to be worried. Despite her not weighing much, Zane knew that he couldn't hold her for long..the cliff was fairly high up, and Deity's hand was already weak from trying to hold onto the cliff before they had formed the ladder. "What do you mean your fingers are slipping? Zane, what's going on down there?" Cole called over the comm link, a hint of strain in his voice as he tried to hold his anchor position up top while holding the weight of three other people by a rope around his arm and waist. "Yeah, what's going on Zane? I can't hold you for much longer-" Jay added, his hand slipping off one of Zane's legs, only to grab him again and tighten his grip. Zane carefully watched his sister's panicked gaze, feeling her hand struggling to hold his. He didn't have much time to make a choice. If he dropped Deity, there was no way of knowing if she'd survive the fall. The Bounty was a bit further away from the cliff, but..maybe..maybe he should make a choice, and quickly. Glancing at the ship in the distance and then at his panicking sister, Zane shut his eyes for a moment, only to open them to look at her. "Jay...let go of me." The master of lightning stiffened behind Zane. "What?! Zane, are you crazy? You'll both fall and-" Zane cut him off, shaking his head and keeping his eyes on Deity. "I am built to save and protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is what I am doing now. I ask that you trust me, Jay. I would never let harm come to any teammate or family member that we have, not on purpose." Deity paused, trying to keep her grip tight. Was he serious? He _wanted_ to fall with her?

Zane squeezed her hand, still talking to Jay. "I know that Deity trusts me, after all..I didn't save her life to have it end by plummeting off the edge of a cliff." The ladder shifted as Cole readjusted his stance, and the earth master's voice came over the comm link. "Jay..let him go. Zane wouldn't ask if he didn't know what he was doing. You gotta have faith in Frosty, y'know?" Deity nodded in agreement with Cole's words, watching Zane. "Jay, drop us. On three, alright Zap?" She was terrified at the possible outcomes of this, but she trusted her brother. "Cole, after we drop, pull Jay up." Jay's comm link crackled to life..but he hesitated for a moment. "Alright. On three." The line shifted again as Cole got his grip tighter to hold onto Jay when they dropped. "One.." Cole said, keeping the line steady. "Two.." Jay continued, carefully holding Zane. Deity swallowed and kept her hand in Zane's. "Three." Zane and Deity said at the same time, as Jay suddenly let go of Zane's legs and they began to fall. Zane curled around his sister, keeping his hand in hers and holding onto her body as they fell. He hoped his calculations were correct..he wasn't usually wrong, but..there were always variables. Zane watched his sister as they fell, looking at her tightly shut eyes and her clinging to him as tightly as she could. The fall seemed to last forever-until Zane heard something. Jets maybe? No, no that wasn't the ship. He dared to look down..they were moments from hitting the ground. Flipping Deity so she was above him, Zane held onto her and wrapped his arms around her, shutting his eyes and bracing for the worst. The jets got louder and then..they landed.

Opening his eyes to look at Deity shaking in his arms, he looked around. They hadn't hit the ground? He looked at the metal fingers carefully curled around them protectively, and the soft cushions underneath their bodies. Nya. Nya had caught them just in time. Those jets had been her Samurai X mech flying toward them as fast as Nya could safely pilot it. Nya's voice came over the comm, and she sounded worried. "Zane? Deity? You guys okay in there?" Zane slowly sat up with Deity in his lap as the metal fingers slowly spread apart to release them. He rubbed Deity's back to try and coax her out of her fearful state, and nodded to himself. "A little shaken from the fall, but otherwise fine..and grateful I was not incorrect. Thank you, Nya." She chuckled over the comm link and waved from the cockpit of the mech. "You assumed I'd see Deity's metal prosthetic glinting in the sun as you fell, right? Her suit is a bit torn up, that did help." Zane nodded to himself again. "Yes, her suit was torn just enough for her arm to reflect against the sunlight." He let out a shaky sigh of relief, seeing Deity look up at him. Deity watched Zane for a few moments and then hugged him tightly, hearing Cole over the comm link. "I take it that everyone is alive and well, then. Good job, Frosty. You did the right thing. Jay and I will be down to the ship shortly." After Nya carefully returned back to the ship with the two, Slither examined Deity with Zane's assistance. "Aside from being shaken by the fall, she's alright..perhaps a little bruising in the near future from the punches." Zane nodded and went to examine the others, but came back to Deity when he heard Jay and Cole coming into the ship.

"You have no idea how sore I am..but we gotta keep fighting, right Songbird?" Cole nudged Deity when they came into the room, and Deity took a breath to calm herself. "Yes, we do. We can't let them reach the city." She got up from the chair she'd been in, heading over to the monitor. Zane nodded. "But with Viper injured and his numbers reduced, we have a better chance. Deity did stab his arm rather harshly." Deity rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, he kinda deserved it." Slither slowly approached the monitor, wondering if her input would be appreciated. "Pardon me, but you said you injured Viper?" Deity nodded. "Yeah, a few hits and a stab to his arm, why?" Slither turned to the monitor, looking at their current location. "Despite him being weakened, he will likely travel a few more days before needing to rest." Lloyd crossed his arms, watching the Venomari. "So what do you suggest?" Slither turned to Lloyd. "I suggest that you take my help, as I'm going to offer it." Jay rose an eyebrow. "Your help, what do you mean?" Slither took a breath. "The different attributes that each tribe possesses, can be used against each other. Er..aside from on our own kind." Deity lifted her head from staring at the floor in thought. "Slither, you scaly genius..you mean-" Slither nodded. "I will need a great many containers for the venom..or balloons. Something to break on contact. You will use it on the Hypnobrai, Constrictai and Fangpyre." Jay had been silent, mumbling to himself in the corner. "Gotta figure out a defense against the Venomari..breathable visor?" Jay walked back and forth, talking to himself. Deity chuckled a little. They didn't have too much time for suit modifications. "Jay! Pay attention!"

Jay snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his head to look at Deity. "Trust me, I appreciate it..but we don't have that kind of time..I think." Zane shakes his head. "We could likely modify our hoods against the danger of the venom. Slither, you said he would travel for a few more days before needing to rest for his arm?" Slither nods, watching Zane. "Yes, they will likely stop and sleep..but Viper is a stubborn trouble maker. He prefers to let things heal on their own, seeing as he doesn't have a healer in his group. A poor choice on his part." Kai nodded, watching the monitor. "Like we talked about before this fight, we're still a good two hundred miles from the city..so we should be alright to work on a plan before fighting. Sis, can you keep the ship on this path, silently following the snakes while we work on the hoods and get the venom balloons ready?" Nya nodded and smiled at her brother, heading back to the wheel of the ship. Deity nodded. "You're right, Kai. Jay, let's work on those hoods..Zane..can you work with Slither to fill the balloons?" Zane nodded, watching his sister. "Of course, but may I speak with you alone?" Deity looks at Cole, who is handing his hood to Jay. She can't help but chuckle at the way his hair is messed from being trapped in the hood. "Cole, go shower off and make sure you're not beat up too badly, alright?" Cole gives her a smile and nods before leaving the room. Deity turns back to Zane after Cole leaves, nodding. "Of course we can talk. Come on." She walks with Zane to the kitchen, leaning against the wall. "What did you want to talk about?"

Zane rubs the back of his neck, unsure of how to state this. "I..made a very dangerous decision that could've ended your life if I was incorrect." He looked a bit sorry-it wasn't a habit of his to endanger his teammates, but he always tried to do what he thought would be the best possible move. "Jay couldn't hold both of us up for much longer, and our hands were slipping. I want to apologize for-" Deity frowned and held up a hand to stop Zane. "Apologize for what? Zane, you wouldn't have made that choice if you didn't have even the smallest percentage of hope that it would work. You wanted to protect us all from potentially going over the edge if all three of you lost your grip, and you wanted to save my life, preventing me from smashing to pieces on the rocks below." Zane visibly shivers at that thought, feeling Deity put her hand on his shoulder. "Zane, I trust you with my life. I always will, and you know that. You're my big brother.. you care about me and you were only trying to do what you thought was best. Worry and doubt are normal, human emotions. Please remember that it's okay to doubt yourself sometimes." Zane nods, watching Deity. "If your suit had not been torn enough, I do not think my plan would've worked." Deity shrugs. "Sometimes luck truly does play a factor in plans, Ice Cube. You did good, I promise. All that matters right now is that it worked, and you saved me..and Cole, as well as Jay." She chuckled. "You saved yourself, too." Zane shakes his head, hugging Deity tightly. He's just glad his plan worked and they survived. He smiles as he speaks, ready to plan for the next fight.

 _ **"It is what I was built for."**_


	12. A Means to an End

It's finally time..the Venom Bombs have been made, and the suits have been modified. Deity watches Slither fit the last of the bombs onto Kai's suit, as she stood before the suited up team. They had six Venom Bombs each, attached to their suits..this shouldn't be too hard, right? She turned to Slither and smiled, taking her hand. "Thank you for your help, Slither. You should stay here in the ship, resting. After all, giving that much venom can't feel good." Letting go of Slither's hand and turning back to the team, she took a calming breath. Despite it being her mission to lead, she was scared. Their last attempt had ended in her and Zane falling off the side of a cliff. "Does everyone know the plan?" The sun was just now setting, so it was a perfect time to ambush Viper. Zane watched his sister and nodded. "I will send Falcon out to scout for Viper's camp, while we wait on standby." Deity nodded, turning her attention to Lloyd and Kai. "Lloyd and I need to be the support of the team this time, and stay on the east side of the trees near Viper's camp when Falcon finds. it." Kai said, adjusting his hood. Deity nodded and turned to Cole, Jay and Zane. "When we find the camp, I want Cole with me. Jay, I want you and Zane on the west side of the trees. But the most important thing is to keep communication clear, and work together. Viper still has quite a few snakes with him, despite how many we took out and injured last time." Deity sighed. "Now, are we ready?" A unanimous agreement was heard between the ninja, and Kai turned to Nya as they ran out to the deck. "Get us close, sis." Nya saluted as Kai ran out to the deck. Zane sends Falcon off with proper instruction, silently waiting. Turning to Deity, he shook his head.

"All we can do now is wait..It shouldn't be too long." The ninja silently talk among themselves for a little while..until Zane slowly lifts his head when he sees his falcon friend circling the ship above them. "He's found it. Five miles west of our current location." Zane turns to Deity. "Are we ready?" She slowly nods. "Ready. Let's move out, boys. Nya, keep the ship close just in case." Nya only nods in the windowed cockpit of the ship, able to hear Deity over the com link. As they travel to the camp, the sun has gone down enough to hide them in the trees..and Deity seems..a little shaky. She's scared of this mission going like the last one. Silently walking with the others, Deity flinches when she feels Cole's gloved hand slip into hers. Lifting her head to look at Cole, she can see him giving her a reassuring expression as he lifts his hood enough for her to see his face. "You're going to do fine, Songbird. We've got your back." Deity gently squeezed his hand and smiled under her hood. "We work together, right?" Cole only nodded at Deity's words, tugging his hood back down as they neared Viper's camp. He squeezed her hand and slowly let go of it. "You got your bow, Deity?" Cole turned to her as Jay and Zane split off to their assigned hiding spot, as Lloyd and Kai did the same. "Yeah, yeah I've got it. Let's get up in that tree, Cole." As they climb and get settled, Deity can see Viper tiredly clutching his bandaged arm. The bandages are bloody and worn, and the camp looks as though they were settling in for bed. Despite being in the tree, Deity carefully climbs up Cole's back and sits on his shoulders. "Have you got me?" Deity whispered as she looked down at Cole, who has his hands securely on her thighs. He only nods.

Silence was key if they were going to ambush the snakes. Deity carefully aimed, pulling the drawstring of the bow back with the arrow held between her fingers. She hadn't used her bow in a while, but they only needed it for a distraction shot. Deity let the arrow go, watching it sail through the air and land against a rock in the distance..but close enough to startle Viper and his camp. Viper sat straight up and looked around, grabbing a torch. "What wass that? Rattless, go check!" The Constrictai sleepily lifted his head. "Aw come on boss, it's prolly just some rabbit.." He yawned, slowly attempting to lay back down. Viper smacked Rattles on the back of the head, hissing. "I ssaid go! And take Fang with you." Rattles grunts and rubs his head, silently grumbling as he gets up. Heading out with Fang, Rattles shakes his head. "I think boss is startin' to get paranoid, ya know?" The Fangpyre walking with him only nodded. "He seems to..worry too much about being stopped before his plan can come to fruition. I agree with you, Rattles." Fang frowned when Rattles didn't reply. "Rattles?" He slowly turned, seeing the Constrictai gone. Fang swallowed a bit of fear building in his throat. It was night, now. The sun had finally set and Rattles was missing..though he'd been here mere moments ago. Looking around the area, Fang found Rattles tied and gagged behind a tree. Someone was here..was it the ninja? Running back to camp, Fang panted and tried to catch his breath, watching Viper. "S..Sir, Rattles was taken from my side and I didn't even notice! Someone is here-" Fang turns when he sees a glass bottle sailing through the air from the the west, and shattering against the head of a Hypnobrai. Within minutes the venom takes effect and the young snake looks terrified. Deity watches the snake flee the camp, and takes a breath. It's time.

"Zane, Jay. Come down from the west and start attacking with the bombs. Lloyd, Kai..stay where you are for now." After climbing down from Cole and dropping to the ground with him, she and Cole join the fight with Zane and Jay. Venom bombs are thrown as the fight goes on, but the team is protected because of their modified suits. They've disabled a good portion of Viper's snakes, but quite a few remain. Grunting when she's knocked down by a Constrictai, Deity holds her head and sits for a minute. She gets back up and rubs her jaw, slamming her metal fist into the snake's snout. "Zane! Cole! How's Jay doing? How many bombs to we have left?" Deity listens to the boys as she gives a swift kick to the snake's stomach. Zane grunts and shoves a Fangpyre back, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I just used my last one! And Viper is getting away!" Cole groans from somewhere behind Deity, grunting in pain as a Constrictai bites into his arm. "Deity, we may have to bring in Kai and Lloyd!" Jay is silent. Why is Jay silent? Running past a few snakes, Deity finally finds Jay collapsed on the ground. The master of lightning is shakily breathing, faint sparks coming from his gloved fingertips. He's exhausted and wounded. Deity can see bite and claw marks over his suit, as well as the red blood seeping through the blue fabric. "Kai! You cover Jay. Lloyd, you get down here and try to patch him up." Deity watches the boys do as she asks, heading over to Zane and Cole. "Alright, we need to end this. We're almost out of bombs, and Jay is down. What snakes won't surrender, we let go. Viper is the leader..with him gone, they'll disperse." Zane only nods, looking up at Cole. "Can we get close enough?" Cole rubbed his chin. "If I can get her on my shoulders, she can take out the snakes running with Viper."

Deity nods. "That's a good plan. Zane, can you create an ice blockade up the road?" Zane nods, heading off in the direction he saw Viper and some other snakes fleeing. Deity looks at Kai and Lloyd carrying Jay back to the ship and climbs up onto Cole's shoulders, feeling him hold her in place and start running. Cole keeps himself as steady as possible, hearing Deity shoot a few arrows and down some of the snakes running with Viper. But..Viper isn't with them. Where is he? They're getting closer to where Zane is supposed to be setting up the ice blockade..but it's only half done. Patting Cole's hand on her thigh to get him to slow and stop, she climbs down and carefully listens. She hears Zane and Viper fighting off to the east and runs with Cole toward the noise. Zane staggers back a few feet and lets out a glitching breath, wiping his mouth off after Viper punched him. He'd gotten a few hits in as well, but he couldn't stand much longer. Viper had gotten quite a few stabs in, and Zane was leaking oil and synthetic blood. Lifting his head when he saw Deity and Cole had arrived, Deity looked..angry. Unbelievably angry..he'd never seen her like this. Viper chuckled. "Look at that, Ice Ninja..your baby ssister came to resscue yo-!" Viper grunted when Deity threw the first punch, holding his snout. Cole is carefully looking over Zane, squinting at the wounds. "Just relax, Z. Don't black out on us alright?" Zane slowly nods, shutting his eyes for a moment. Deity is clashing with Viper every few hits, shoving the snake back with her sai as she feels an anger ready to bubble over inside her. "You kidnapped me, hypnotized me to do your dirty work and hurt people I care about!" She pulled her leg back and slammed it into Viper's side, shoving him to the ground and watching him stand. Deity watched Viper run forward and took a deep breath, letting the anger inside her spill out in the form of one of her sonic screams. Zane and Cole both groan behind her and cover their ears, while Viper wails from the shrill sound.

She took one of her sai and jammed it into the bandaged wound on the snake's arm. Viper looks at Deity like he's ready to beg. "Please, isn't this enough? After all, it's the ice master's fault you got kidnapped." Deity twitches and lets go of Viper's wrist, grabbing the snake by the throat and choking him. "I will never blame him. Not in a million years." Viper gave a wheezing laugh, trying to swallow while being choked. "It's a shame you're slower than the others, maybe that's why he doesn't let you fight- _ **hrk!"**_ Viper grunted when Deity tightened her grip, pulling her sai from his arm and slamming it into his leg. Zane slowly opened his eyes when he heard the snake's comment. "My sister is many things..but she is _not_ slow." Zane listened to Viper's grunt and the pained gasp he gave out. "I take it you learned that though, hm?" Viper headbutted Deity and knocked her down while she was listening to Zane, pulling the sai from his leg and holding it up to Deity's neck. "I think she'll let me go, don't you?" Viper chuckled. Deity watched Zane and Cole, elbowing Viper in the stomach and turning around, shoving him and taking the sai back. She twitched and stretched her neck, lunging at Viper and stabbing him in the stomach. "I'm so sick of you! Viper, you really should stop talking. No wonder your followers doubted you." Deity watched Viper stagger back and cough, pulling at the blade in his stomach. She pulled it out for him and slashed at him, missing. Deity was tired from the fighting, but she'd keep going. Ramming the blade into Viper's stomach over and over, Deity let her anger out on the snake that caused all this trouble..until she feels Cole holding her from behind. Watching Viper slump over and the life leave his eyes, she struggles against Cole because she's still angry. His calm voice causes her to slowly relax.

 _ **"Deity..it's over, we won. You can stop now. Let's go home."**_


End file.
